Night Pils
Lagunitas Brewing Company

Pours dark with a tan lacey head that clings to the glass. Aroma is chocolate with a good malt backbone that is quite light. It reminds me of a Guinness, because it seems quite light. It is not a heavy beer and very drinkable. 60 IBUs Rated 1-19-2019

 

 

 

22oz bottle no date

slimey and grimey

Resin and pinetar that sticks to the tongue. Boozy, but I didn't notice 'till the end of the bottle. Seriously sticky A1 soy hop steak sauce juice. Dark and pretty in the glass, it drinks real good

make it year-round, pls

A- Pours a very dark color with a slight head and lacing
A- Aroma has chocolate and dark fruit hints
M-The taste follows the nose with a chocolate and dark fruit flavor
M-A medium bodied moderately carbonated beer
O-A well done Schwarzbier

Pours a very dark brown, nearly black, stout like color. A moderate foam head quickly dissipates.
The aroma is very stout like with notes of chocolate, roasted malt, and dark caramel. There are also notes of liquorice, mint, toasted malts and a bit of smoke.
The taste is a surprise in that despite the notes of dark chocolate and sweet caramelized malts, the flavors are significantly bitter. Roasted and charred malts, along with earthy hops, convey a smoky bitterness that is pleasant to drink. Yet the rich malt texture, which also evokes dark fruit, never really loses its sweetness, as both bitter and sweet interact beautifully.
Full bodied with a smooth and soft mouthfeel. The carbonation is gentle. The ABV is remarkably well hidden and the finish is dry, roasty and ashy.
Not your traditional Schwartzbiers, but quite enjoyable.

 

Pours dark "cherry cola" brown with a thick dark tan head that has great staying power and leaves fantastic lacing. Aroma is faint, dark roasted malt with a wisp of campfire smoke. Flavor is more intense than the nose but the same dark roasted malts, smoke and a touch of chocolate. A bit sweet with no bitterness. Feel is smooth, only lightly carbonated. Overall a tasty beer.

 

 

 

 

This beer is not a Schwarzbier but I can see why it might resemble such but instead this should be labeled an imperial pilsner or perhaps a black imperial pilsner that is the style of this. He'll even the name is Night like and clocks in at 8.1% to ms is it and imperial pilsner and because it's an imperial pilsner and not a Schwarzbier I give it a 5 because it's perfect in every way. Drink from a snifter, dark like a stout or porter with flavors of roasted malts, chocolate, and coffee like you would get out of a Schwarzbier but it's not a Schwarzbier it's an imperial pilsner and tastes like a pilsner with subtle chocolate and coffee with roasted malts and slight subtle hops. Plus a Schwarzbier shouldn't exceed an abv of 5.2 and this one does, therefore not a schwarzbier. But this is very very good when you're in the mood for a strong pilsner.

22oz bottle served in a curved glass. Beer is all the way black, with a large and substantial brown foamy head. Looks too good to be a real Schwarzbier, which are typically on the thin side. Aroma definitely brings out a blackened malt profile, suggesting porter rather than black lager or pils. Flavor continues with that theme, offering roasty malts, bitter chocolate, and a dry, hoppy balance. The crisp mouthfeel suggests a lager yeast, but otherwise, this is not at all reminiscent of pilsner. Could just as well have been a strong dry stout. Still, really enjoyable, suitable for all climes and times.

Lagunitas Brewing Co. "Night Pils"
22 fl. oz. brown glass bottle, coded "310 B 1 10575 1943" (whatever that means)
$5.99 @ Total Wine & More, Cherry Hill, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: So what is this? It looks like the label originally read Czech Style Pilsner but that's been blacked out with the word "Dark" placed over it. It's poured a black body beneath a foamy tan head so that makes sense. It smells of dark malts, with some dark chocolate, and some floral and mildly herbal hops. It's clean and welcoming. OK then, on to the flavor... so I'll call this a schwarzbier except that it's too strong at 8.1%. My initial thought was that it was going to be a black IPA but it's definitely not. Wow, I'm surprised that they were able to pull this off at 8.1% although you can taste the alcohol. Still, it's definitely in the schwarzbier vein. I'm getting some dark chocolate, a hint of roastiness, some nice grainy maltiness, a hint of floral hops, some very mild yeasty fruitiness, and a touch of licorice or anise. It's cool and almost minty in the dry finish. It's pretty decent, not going too far into the realm of roasty malts but definitely taking a few steps inside the circle. Hmmm, maybe I should rethink that... it is a touch roasty in the finish. I don't know, I'm still a little bit unsure about this. It's like a schwarzbier but it's bigger, and the alcohol shows and it's just not as drinkable as a standard schwarz ~ there's no real benefit to it's being bigger and stronger unless you just want that extra alcohol. It does remind me of some of the beers I've tasted in Prague, although a bit more hoppy, and I'll say that this isn't any better balanced than they were - not in a bad way, but not in a better way either. Looking back the head held well and there was some nice lacing but it wasn't the best it could have been. In the mouth it's medium bodied and crisp. I'm neither disappointed or enthralled. It's OK for what it is, and I'd enjoy another but I certainly wouldn't seek it out.
Review# 6,503

22 oz bottle purchased from Winco in McMinnville OR.
$3.89
Lovely looking beer in my dimped mug.Black with a tremendous frothy/rocky tan head!
Good caramel amd toffee malt aromas.. creamy fudge and a tinge of hops.
Taste has that bit of ash..as expected from a shwarz..also some milky licorice and coffee..very very nice.
Mouth feel is luxuriant..fells so smooth yet thick.
Very good beer..i am really enjoying this one on a cold rainy night..excellent value for the money!

I know that I am supposed to be the ChAmpioN of CANned beers, but I retain an inherent curiosity that drew me to craft beer initially. This bomber showed up at the Friendly Greek Bottle Shop (FGBS), but I dragged my heels in favor of inCANming CANs until it finally fairly screamed at me to take it home. 8=( I finally could no longer resist & pulled the trigger. I hope that it is worthy!

From the Bottle: This is going to be tough to transcribe since the label is supposed to mimic being ripped with a light, white part representing Pils & the dark, black part representing Night. Here goes - "While ales are meaty, lagers are sinewy./which is bright and welcoming, and there is the NightTime kind,/lagers are 'haute couture'. Where an ale mi/NightTime is dark, deep and may take you to unexpected places,/and take your wallet, lagers donate to charity/NightTime is not suited for ordinary life and ordinary tasks,/While an ale might steal your car or try to dat/thing, meaning that those sorts of things may never get done,/keep her out all night doing who-knows-what/and you can pause (you have to, actually) and investigate/would offer to clean your house while you're/it is only possible under the spell of the NightTime. Seek the/fresh scones and coffee for you when you return/707.769.4495 or just c'mon by and visit … Day or Night …!"

I Pop!ped the cap & began a slow, gentle C-Line pour, only to be pleasantly shocked & surprised. I am used to seeing a pseudo-cascade in/from many dark-colored ales, but when it happened with this Lager-style beer, I was impressed! It eventually settled down to become two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with great retention. Color was Very Dark Brown to Black/Opaque (SRM = > 34, < 44) with NE-quality clarity & garnet highlights. Nose smelled of dark/baker's chocolate, light smoke, treacle, anise & a cool mintiness. THIS in a Lager-style beer?!? Not in a while, in my estimation. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but certainly big for a Lager. The taste was rather bitter, but that was just fine by me. Its bitterness was derived from the dark malts, creating an initially chocolaty smokiness that slowly gave 'way to a treacle & anise quality. Wow! Finish was cool, dry & minty, giving the entire experience a liquefied York Peppermint Patty quality. First of all, this was completely unexpected. Second, the inexpensive price point made it even better. YMMV.

As advertised, dark pour, tan head, a lot like an ale. Aroma is vague coffee / molasses. It's when you get to the taste you get this is not a dark ale, with a lighter-than-expected mouthfeel, no dominant roasted grain taste and a pleasant bitterness. If you close your eyes and ignore the dark color, it's a sharper version of a pilsner. Hard to equate this to a traditional German Schwartzbier, but that's as close as any. Being Lagunitas, it's well-made and tasty.